Bangalore, May 6: The JD(S) Legislature Party unanimously elected H D Revanna as its leader and Bandeppa Kashampur as its deputy leader, at a meeting here on Friday. 

The strength of the JD(S) in the Assembly is now 24. The post of JD(S)LP leader fell vacant after H D Kumaraswamy’s election to Lok Sabha from Bangalore Rural recently. The deputy leader’s post was vacant after Umesh Katti joined the BJP.

Revanna is a three-time MLA from Holenarasipura in Hassan district and served as housing minister when the party supremo Deve Gowda was the Chief Minister in 1994. He was the PWD and energy minister in both the N Dharam Singh and the Kumaraswamy Cabinet, between 2004 and 2007. Bandeppa Kashampur was the agriculture minister in the Kumaraswamy Cabinet.

The JD(S)LP also elected Venkata Rao Nadagouda as its chief whip.

Office bearers

Senior JD(S) leader also decided to dissolve all units of the party, from taluk to State level, with immediate effect.

However, Kumaraswamy will continue as the party State President.

Kumaraswamy told reporters here that a senior leader will be appointed in-charge for conducting elections of the office-bearers of all these units within three months. This is for the first time the elections are being held for office-bearers of the party.

Stating that a membership drive will be taken up from June 15, he said, the party has decided to give preference to law professionals and educated rural youth while entrusting them with responsibilities in future.